MLB Baseball: Friday, April 22, 2016 at 7:35 pm (Turner Field)

M Harvey (0-3) (5.71) vs. B Norris (1-2) (6.23)

TV: SNY, FSSO

Friday evening at Turner Field, we’ve got game one of a weekend matchup between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.

The Mets are coming off a three-game set against the Phillies this week. New York took games one and two, but dropped Thursday’s finale by a score of 5-4.

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As for the Braves, they just finished up a set against the Dodgers. Atlanta and L.A. split the first two games, then on Thursday the Braves lost a tight 10-inning marathon 2-1 to fall to 4-11 on the year.

For Friday’s game one against Atlanta, the Mets will be bringing out right-hander Matt Harvey. It’s been a tough year for Harvey thus far, as he’s been having trouble with his mechanics on the way to a 5.71 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. In his most recent apperaance, Harvey fell to 0-3 on the year with a five-earned loss to the Indians on Saturday.

The New York lineup boasts a lot of power, and can sometimes score at will. Neil Walker leads the way with 17 hits, nine runs and 11 RBI on six homers, while Yoenis Cespedes isn’t far behind with 16 hits, 11 runs, five homers and 13 RBI. Lucas Duda has also been pretty effective on 14 hits with eight runs and 10 RBI thus far.

Over on the Atlanta side, they’ll be trotting out right-hander Bud Norris for Friday’s game. Norris is sitting on a 6.23 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP with a 1-2 record across 17.1 innings pitched. In his last outing Saturday, Norris put up four earned on seven hits in 5.1 innings.

Overall, the Braves bats have been struggling this season, but there are a couple of bright spots in their lineup. Nick Markakis has 16 hits with seven runs and 12 RBI, while Adonis Garcia has put up 14 hits with five runs and five RBI. Big-swinging Freddie Freeman has just one homer on the year with a .163 BA, and went 1-for-4 on Thursday. Freeman really needs to get that long-ball swing going to help the team.

The Mets are 7-0 in their last seven Friday games, and 9-2 in their last 11 following an off day. That said, New York is 0-5 in Harvey’s last five starts. Meanwhile, the Braves are 3-7 in their last 10 against the National League East, and 1-7 in their last eight home games.

There’s something going on with Harvey this season, and it’s tough watching him slog through these games. That said, I think Harvey will get it going here (finally), and set the Mets up for a victory against this tepid Braves squad.

New York Mets -173

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